


all you need is love

by Kit_Kat21



Series: Beatles Tribute [19]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Marriage, Meet the Family, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-01-16 04:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18514015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_Kat21/pseuds/Kit_Kat21
Summary: But… and this is just sometimes, butsometimes, he very much feels like Eleanor looks to herself as Sansa’s daughter alone. He doesn’t doubt that Eleanor loves him. But if the kids ever had to choose one parent to live with, Jon knows that Eleanor wouldn’t even look at him before running to join Sansa’s side.





	1. She Said She Said

…

 

Sansa has almost fallen asleep when she hears the garage door open and then close. Ghost sleeps in the laundry room on Wednesday nights, when Jon goes to his meetings and sometimes doesn’t come back until the kids are already in their beds. At the sound of Jon returning, Sansa can hear Ghost stand up from the floor. Lady is sleeping on the couch with Sansa and she lifts her head when she hears the garage as well. Julia is sleeping deeply against Sansa’s side – her head on her mama’s chest and Sansa’s arm around her shoulders – and the little girl doesn’t stir at all. Sansa doesn’t get up, not wanting to disturb her, so she just waits for Jon from where she is.

 

“Hey, boy,” she hears Jon quietly greet Ghost when he comes into the laundry room and he closes and locks the door behind him.

 

Sansa turns her head to look over the back of the couch, into the kitchen, and when Jon steps out, his eyes immediately land on her, knowing exactly where she is. She’s always waiting up for him on Wednesday nights. Sometimes, he gets home while the kids are still awake and he’s able to help with bedtime. Other times, like tonight, it’s hours; especially when he sent her a text two hours earlier to tell her that he and Gilly were going to go get coffee after the meeting. Sansa knew what that meant – Gilly needed to talk with her sponsor – and Jon could have been gone all night.

 

She smiles when she sees him. “Hi,” she says softly.

 

“Hey,” Jon smiles, too, and comes to the family room where she is.

 

When he comes around their L-couch, and sees Julia completely passed out against Sansa, he keeps smiling.

 

“She was insistent that she wait up for you,” Sansa tells him and Jon leans down, giving their youngest daughter a kiss on top of her head. Julia doesn’t even stir. Sansa lifts the remote to turn down the television – _The Aristocats_ playing as it usually is when Julia chooses the movie – and presses the mute button. “Is everything alright?” She then asks though she never asks for further details.

 

It’s none of her business.

 

Gilly is one of her closest friends and the Snow and Tarly families often do things together – Brandon and Little Sam being best friends, Jon and Sam being best friends – but it’s still none of her business when it comes to this particular relationship between Gilly and Jon.

 

Once, Sansa had gone online to read about the relationship one has with their sponsors. The relationship is almost sacred. Sansa knows Jon’s own sponsor, Osha, quite well by this point, but Sansa certainly doesn’t ask her for details into her husband’s mind that he has confided in Osha about.

 

Have there been moments of jealousy over the past few years? Absolutely. But Sansa has learned that she can be jealous, but it won’t change anything and being jealous over something that can’t be changed is exhausting. Sansa knows that Jon needs Osha and Osha knows how to help Jon in particular situations where Sansa would just be clueless.

 

It’s the same with Gilly and Jon. Jon is Gilly’s sponsor and what they talk about is neither Sansa or Sam’s business. All Sansa can do is ask how it went and she can hope for Gilly that things are going to be alright.

 

Jon settles down onto the couch on the other side of Sansa so she is between husband and daughter.

 

“Everything’s alright. She just needed coffee and to bitch about the kids,” Jon says with a little smile.

 

Sansa smiles, too. “Maybe we should all start a support group for that,” she jokes and Jon leans in, kissing the corner of her jaw – that special spot of hers – and she shivers in response. Jon smiles at her reaction as always. “You ready for bed?” She then asks.

 

“Definitely,” Jon gives a nod and a tired sigh.

 

He pulls himself up again and then carefully, he lifts Julia up into his arms. It seems her head finds his shoulder instantly and she keeps on sleeping. Sansa smiles as she stands up as well, stretching her arms over her head to wake her body back up, having been sitting and not moving for almost an hour now.

 

Jon goes to make sure the doors are all locked and the alarm is set as Sansa turns off the movie, folds the blanket again and begins turning off the lamps she has left on. Jon is waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her and Sansa gives him a smile as she heads up first, Jon following behind and Ghost and Lady bringing up the rear, racing up past Jon and then Sansa to get to the top first.

 

 When Jon and Sansa first bought this house, it had seemed too big for just three people, but they had been quick to fill it. Brandon has his own room because he’s the oldest and Jon and Sansa wanted him to have his own room and then George and Max share one room while Eleanor and Julia share another.

 

Sansa leads them into the girls’ bedroom now, the cupcake nightlight in the outlet providing enough light for them to move around in. When she turned three this past year, Julia received her “big girl” bed and Jon goes to lay her down in it now as Sansa checks on Eleanor, the girl sleeping as deeply and peacefully as her sister.

 

After making sure both girls are good for the night, they then check on George and Max and lastly, Brandon. Lady sleeps in Brandon’s bedroom every night and tonight, she’s jumped onto the bed with the boy; Brandon moving over in his sleep so there’s room for her.

 

It is only then that Jon and Sansa go to their bedroom. Ghost is already there, laying across the foot of their bed as always and Sansa climbs onto her side, slipping beneath the covers with a yawn she can’t hold back. A few minutes later, Jon is changed and ready for bed as well, and once his teeth are brushed, he all, but collapses beside her, hardly able to get beneath the covers himself.

 

Sansa has been chewing on her bottom lip and she turns her head on her pillow to look at her husband.

 

Taking a deep breath, she suddenly rolls towards him, placing her body directly on top of his.

 

Jon’s eyes had been closed, but they fly open in an instant. “Whoa,” he says before breaking into a smile and his hands slide down her back to grasp her waist. “You know I’m always in favor of this, but don’t be insulted if I fall asleep on you right in the middle of it.”

 

Sansa would have rolled her eyes if that had been what she had actually wanted. Instead though, she shakes her head. “I have to talk with you about something,” she tells him and Jon looks into her eyes and knows within an instant how serious it is.

 

“What is it?” He can already feel his body tensing beneath hers in preparation.

 

Sansa pauses for just a moment and Jon squeezes her waist to prompt her. “Eleanor came home and they had an assignment in class today. The teacher wanted them to write about their parents.”

 

“Okay…” Jon frowns a little, having absolutely no idea what Eleanor could write that would have Sansa looking as serious as she looks right now.

 

Sansa looks at him for a moment and then sighs softly. She lowers her lips to his in a kiss. “I love you.”

 

“Gods, Sansa, you have to tell me,” he says because right now, he’s imagining that Eleanor wrote that he and Sansa are doing drugs right in front of the kids or something just as bad.

 

Sansa slides her body off of his and rolls towards her nightstand, where she has placed the paper earlier when Eleanor had showed it to her and Sansa had read it for herself. She then hands it to Jon, who sits up a little so he can read what his daughter has written. She’s only six so it’s not like it’s some magnificent term paper, but in the few lines she has written in her pencil on the wide-ruled paper, he’s able to get the idea.

 

_My daddy takes lots of naps and he only cooks hamburgers._

 

The rest of it is about Sansa and how she cooks and bakes and cleans the house and takes care of them. Jon knows that Eleanor hadn’t meant anything cruel in her words, but damn, it stings all the same. That’s how his daughter sees him? As a slug who just takes naps and is incapable of doing anything else?

 

“I don’t take a _lot_ of naps,” he grumbles, handing the paper back to Sansa.

 

“She didn’t mean anything by it, Jon. I know she didn’t,” Sansa swiftly tells him.

 

Jon does his best to give her a smile. “I know, Sansa.”

 

With their daughters, Eleanor looks just like Sansa with her long red hair and Julia looks like Jon with her black curls and Jon has always loved the way Eleanor so often mimics Sansa, wanting to be just like her. Even when it comes to scolding George, Eleanor’s tone takes on the _exact_ tone that Sansa does when scolding.

 

And Jon knows it’s not true, but the thought pops into his mind anyway. Turning his head on his pillow, he looks to Sansa. “ _You_ don’t think I’m some do-nothing lay-about, do you?”

 

“You know I don’t, Jon,” Sansa immediately replies. “Me, our kids and this house would fall apart without you. The kids don’t see nearly everything you do for us.”

 

And Jon _does_ know Sansa doesn’t think that he’s a do-nothing lay-about; that he’s much more than that. He just needed to hear it right then, he supposes.

 

Sansa moves close to him once again and her head finds a resting spot on his shoulder. He knows it shouldn’t bother him – Eleanor’s _six_ and Jon has learned a thousand times by now that the whole “Kids say the darndest things” is absolutely true. So why is what Eleanor wrote about him making his chest hurt so damn much? He swallows thickly. _Because_. He’s afraid that his daughter really thinks that about him; that he doesn’t do anything, but nap and he’s incapable of making anything in the kitchen other than hamburgers; that she truly thinks that Sansa is the main core of this family and without her, they’d all fall apart.

 

And yes, if anything happened to Sansa, the Snow family falling apart is an absolute possibility. Jon doesn’t deny that. Without Sansa, _he’d_ fall apart. But for the kids, he likes to think that they would all survive – eventually. It would be a rough go of it for quite some time, but, eventually, they would all be able to live.

 

It also has to do with Eleanor herself. The others – Brandon, George, Julia and Max – Jon knows that they absolutely love him. Without question, Jon knows his kids love him. And he would die for the five of them a thousand times each without hesitation if it ever came to that. But… and this is just sometimes, but _sometimes_ , he very much feels like Eleanor looks to herself as Sansa’s daughter alone. He doesn’t doubt that Eleanor loves him. But if the kids ever had to choose one parent to live with, Jon knows that Eleanor wouldn’t even look at him before running to join Sansa’s side.

 

“What are you thinking?” Sansa asks quietly because she very much knows that he’s thinking something.

 

“Do you think Eleanor loves me? Not because I’m her dad and she has to, but because she wants to?” Jon asks and he can’t help, but ask because suddenly, he can’t think to ask or say anything else.

 

Sansa lifts her head from his shoulder so she can look to his face. “ _Of course,_ Eleanor loves you, Jon. She adores you.”

 

And now, Jon can’t help, but wonder if Sansa has said that because she has to.

 

…

 

The kids are off from school on Thursday and Friday for teacher in-service day and Jon has brought work home with him – bids to work on – so he can stay at home and Sansa doesn’t have to use vacation days. After breakfast and Sansa helps Jon get all of the kids dressed and their teeth are brushed, she leaves for the University Library with kisses and hugs and making the kids promise that they’ll be good for daddy that day.

 

Brandon, with Lady, goes right into the basement – a part of the full-size basement being set up as another playroom for the kids. Brandon goes down there to play his video games and he’s already asked Jon if Little Sam could come over later to play. Brandon’s video games aren’t necessarily bad ones. Jon and Sansa make sure they are appropriate for his age – and they ask Rickon to make sure they are since Rickon has seemingly played every video game on the market – but Brandon is ten and what is appropriate for him might not be appropriate for his younger siblings to see or try to play for themselves.

 

For Max and Julia, Jon gets them situated in the family room where many of their toys are and after asking them what they would like to watch for background noise, he puts on _The Aristocats_ since Julia had fallen asleep last night while watching it. Jon gets himself situated at the kitchen table so he can keep a close eye on Julia and Max while working while also watching George outside in the backyard with Ghost.

 

As for Eleanor, she asks Jon if she can color and she has now gotten herself situated at the table across from Jon with one of her coloring books and box of crayons.

 

Earlier that morning as she got herself ready, Sansa had asked him if he would like to speak with Eleanor together later this afternoon once Sansa came home again, but Jon had shaken his head. No, he just wants to forget it, to be honest. It’s not that big of a deal. His feelings are done being hurt.

 

She’s six. She didn’t mean to call him lazy. That probably didn’t even cross her mind when she wrote what she did. The truth is, Jon _does_ like taking naps and he _does_ make hamburgers – a lot. Sansa’s the better one in the kitchen; he’ll be the first to admit it. Eleanor, in her mind, was just writing down two things that he does, in fact, like and do.

 

After reading through the first fifty pages of a building’s specification booklet for pre-bid, Jon has to pull his head away from his laptop and give a heavy sigh, closing his eyes to give them a break from the screen.

 

“Are you okay, daddy?” Eleanor asks.

 

Jon’s lips twitch in a smile and he opens his eyes again to see his mini-Sansa looking at him with concern. “I’m okay, sweetheart. Just reading things for work.”

 

“I can read for you!” She immediately volunteers, sitting up perfectly straight with an eager smile.

 

“You might find this to be boring,” Jon says, his smile growing a little at her offer, but Eleanor slides out of her chair and comes hurrying to Jon’s side of the table, he helping her sit in his lap.

 

Eleanor looks to the white PDF document open on the screen. After a moment, she looks to Jon with a frown. “I don’t know these words, daddy,” she admits.

 

Jon kisses her on the head. “Coordinate chases, slots, inserts, sleeves, and openings with general construction work and arrange in building structure during progress of construction to facilitate the electrical installations that follow,” he then reads and Eleanor keeps frowning.

 

She looks at the words for a moment as if they are going to make sense to her at any moment and then turns to look at Jon, now sitting sideways in his lap. “You build buildings,” she then states.

 

“I do. I have a lot of help and others build them with me, too, but that’s what I do.”

 

Eleanor is quiet, thinking that over. “Mama told me that you kill spiders for her, too.”

 

Jon nearly smiles. He has to wonder if Sansa had already talked with Eleanor this morning. Obviously, his wife took it upon herself to do just that.  

 

“I do. Anytime she screams, I take care of it for her. I try to take them back outside, but sometimes, I have no choice to kill it. Your mama is terrified of spiders.”

 

“Me, too,” Eleanor nods in agreement. “Will you do that for me, too, daddy?”

 

Jon puts his arms around her. “Always, Eleanor. That’s what I’m here for,” he says with a smile and Eleanor bursts into a happy smile at that and rests her head against his chest as Jon hugs her.

 

“You’re the best,” Eleanor than murmurs quietly.

 

And if Jon squeezes her just a little tighter – maybe _too_ tight – no one would be able to blame him for that.

 

…

Eleanor Snow inspiration


	2. Maxwell's Silver Hammer

…

 

“You might be the most perfect baby named Max I’ve ever seen,” Sansa coos to him. “Yes, you are.” She leans in and kisses him on his head; at least the sixth kiss in as many minutes. “And you definitely look like a Max. That was going to be your name anyway – as soon as we found out you were a boy, your daddy and me knew that that was going to be your name – but you look like the most perfect little Max I could ever imagine and I’m so happy about that.”

 

Maxwell Hoster Snow is about eighteen hours old now and he’s just perfect. Absolutely perfect. His eyes are closed, his mitten-clad hands are curled into tiny fists and he is quiet in his mama’s arms. He already looks like Jon with the smallest tuft of black curly hair on his head and when he did have his eyes open, Sansa saw that they were the odd grey coloring that Jon’s are.

 

She thinks it’s perfect. They have five children – four of those they’ve had together – and George and Eleanor look like her with their copper hair and blue eyes and now, their youngest two, Julia and Max look like Jon. Sansa finds it all to be fitting. The Snow family is now complete.

 

And she already finds it humorous that she and Jon have given their fifth and final child a middle name after Sansa’s Tully grandfather and not even a full day old yet, Max looks like nothing, but a Snow.

 

Sansa smiles and kisses her son’s head again.

 

She and Jon knew that they wanted a big family. They’ve always been in complete agreement about that, but even knowing that, Max had been a complete surprise; not unwanted by any means, just a surprise. Julia had just turned one when Sansa found out she was pregnant again and more than one of her siblings and their friends told Jon to basically give Sansa a rest.  

 

Max is absolutely wanted, loved and adored though. Eighteen hours old and there is no doubt about it.

 

“And as your mama, who absolutely loves you more than anything, I need to warn you. Your family is going to be teasing you relentlessly about your name, but just remember. They love you, too, and you have the most wonderful name no matter what anyone says.”

 

Hearing a chuckle from the door of her hospital room, Sansa looks over her shoulder and smiles the instant she sees that it’s her husband.

 

“Giving him the name pep talk already?” Jon asks, making sure the door closes completely behind him before coming to her bed.

 

“With our family, it’s a pep talk he’s going to need often,” Sansa replies, still smiling as she looks back down to Max. She gives him another kiss as Jon settles in the chair next to her bed.

 

Jon smiles at that. “Special delivery,” he tells her, holding up a paper bag and a paper cup.

 

Just like her smile had been instant when she saw him, her face lights up again. “My hero,” she says and Jon chuckles. He stands up, setting the bag and cup on the table tray and then takes Max gently from Sansa’s arms into his, settling himself back in the chair again.

 

“Need help?” He asks as Sansa grabs the bed remote and watches as she rolls onto her back, adjusting herself as she raises the top half of the bed so she can sit up. He begins to move forward to help her, but Sansa shakes her head.

 

“I’m capable of getting myself comfortable, Jon,” Sansa tells him with a soft smile. “Just make sure that you don’t do anything to disturb that one.”

 

Jon smiles, settling back in the chair and looking down to Max as Sansa opens the bag and immediately pulls out the carton of French Fries, popping one into her mouth, closing her eyes as if she’s just entered Heaven, a serene smile across her face. She settles against her pillows as she chews and revels in the delicious grease and salt.

 

When she opens her eyes again, she turns her head to find that Jon is watching her with a smile; and his smile makes her smile.

 

“You think for as often as we’re in this maternity wing, the hospital would get better food,” Sansa comments, taking another fry, and Jon snickers, leaning his head back against the chair, not saying anything and just watching her.

 

Sansa then pulls out the container of McDonald chicken nuggets and nestling back into her pillows, she truly begins her feast. She’ll allow herself to eat terrible today, but then, it’s right back to a healthy diet to help lose whatever extra weight she had gained when carrying Max around; and of what she still hadn’t lost completely from Julia.

 

“Would you like to hear about the other kids?” Jon asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

 

Sansa sighs heavily, pretending to be put out. “If you must tell me,” she says, the smile she’s trying to mask breaking through.

 

Jon smiles as well. “Julia, as my mom tells me, is an angel.”

 

“I don’t believe it,” Sansa is quick to say. “Considering she wailed for over an hour the other day because we gave her apple juice instead of orange juice, angel isn’t the exact word I would use to describe our daughter.”

 

“Your mom let me know that Eleanor has taken it upon herself to reorganize your parents’ closet and Robb had brought over a few movies and George has been laying in the family room all day.”

 

“Which movies?” Sansa wonders.

 

Their son is a rambunctious four-year-old boy and he will sit through one movie on family movie night, but he’s not the sort to just lay around, watching movies without getting bored or restless.

 

“All three _Indiana Jones_ ,” Jon answers with a smile. “Ned was saying he’s never seen George as quiet and enthralled as he is right now.”

  
Shifting as slowly as he can so not to disturb Max, Jon manages to pull his cell phone out from his coat pocket, still having not taken off his coat, and pulls up the video to show Sansa. She wipes her fingers on one of the napkins and is already smiling as she takes the phone before even having seen it. It’s one her father has shot, her little George on the floor, reclining back against Ghost as the dog lays behind him, as he’s staring – just silently staring – at the television screen.

 

Sansa can’t help, but let out a laugh and her eyes feel wet despite how happy she feels; her hormones still completely out of whack within her.

 

“And Brandon?” She asks, once she watches the video once more and then sets the phone down so she can finish her chicken nuggets.

 

This one, Jon hesitates a moment. Sansa can visibly see him hesitate and she begins to frown. Jon notices immediately and he sits up a bit in his chair, still mindful of not disturbing Max.

 

“No, no. It’s nothing. He went to work with Arthur and Arthur got a call…”

 

“And the next words out of your mouth, Jon Snow, is that Arthur left our eight-year-old son at the police station while your _homicide_ detective father went to a crime scene,” Sansa says, her voice stern as are her eyes on her husband.

 

Jon remains silent.

 

“Jon!” Sansa snaps, making Jon jump slightly and Max’s face scrunches up in disapproval.

 

“Arthur assured me that Brandon stayed outside with one of the police officers. He didn’t go inside and he didn’t see _anything_. I swear,” Jon quickly tells her.

 

“But Arthur took him to a murder scene?” Sansa’s voice is low now; almost dangerous.

 

“ _Outside_ of a murder scene,” Jon tries to make sure she sees the distinction.

 

Sansa just stares at her husband and Jon shifts again, able to look at her for only a moment before he lowers his eyes to Max.

 

Both hear the room door open and Sansa turns her head and Jon lifts his head to see who it is.

 

“Mama!” Brandon comes hurrying into the room, skipping and running, and despite what Jon has just told her, Sansa feels herself bursting into a smile at the sight of her oldest son.

 

“Brandon!” She exclaims and pushes the tray table away so he can join her on the bed.

 

“Hello, how is everyone feeling? Lyanna will be bringing Julia-” Arthur smiles as he steps into the room, but stops suddenly when Sansa stares at him, her smile completely gone. “Uh…” Arthur looks at Sansa as she continues staring at him silently. He then looks to Jon, who is giving him the slightest shake of his head. “I have a taste for a bit of coffee. I’ll go down to the cafeteria and get myself a cup and then I actually have to head back out. I’m in the middle of work…” he slowly steps back towards the door. “You look absolutely radiant, Sansa,” he rushes out before nearly bolting out of the room.

 

“Bye, Grandpa!” Brandon calls out after him. He then looks to Sansa with a grin. “Guess what?”

 

Sansa is dreading what he’s going to be telling her, but she manages a smile. “What?”

 

“I got to take an entire roll of crime scene police tape home with me today!” He tells her, the boy’s excitement brimming out of him.

 

Sansa quickly pictures their entire home being taped off with yellow tape, but Brandon’s happiness over it makes her smile easier. “That’s wonderful, sweetling. And… was there anything else?” She asks, almost hesitantly.

 

“Greta, the desk sergeant, made me hot chocolate and it was awful with water, but I thanked her anyway. Officer Mount locked me in one of the cells and Grandpa Arthur took my mug shot! He’s going to get it framed so we can hang it on the wall!” Brandon tells them both, his delight at his day spent with his grandpa at the police station only growing as he tells them all about it.

 

Jon lets out a laugh. “That’ll be a great conversation starter when we have guests.”

 

Sansa smiles and looks at Brandon closely. “And… you didn’t see anything else? Something you _really_ shouldn’t have seen, but saw anyway?”

 

Brandon’s brow furrows a bit as he thinks that over. “There was a drunk man at the station who had wet his pants, but I didn’t look at him because I didn’t want to embarrass him even though I don’t think he would have noticed me looking at him anyway.”

 

“That was very thoughtful of you,” Sansa agrees. “And that was all?”

 

“I didn’t see a dead body, mama,” Brandon then informs her.

 

Sansa exhales a sigh and wraps him tightly in her arms, kissing his head.

 

Max shifts in Jon’s arms then and slowly, the baby’s eyes begin to blink open. Jon smiles when he looks to his son’s face.

 

“Well, hello, there,” Jon says to him in a gentle voice. Slowly, he stands up and then comes to the bed, perching himself onto the edge on Sansa’s other side.

 

“Hello, my sweet boy,” Sansa smiles at him, rubbing her hand over his through his mitten. “Your oldest brother has come to see you again.”

 

Brandon leans in close. “Hi, Max,” he smiles down to his baby brother. “I was telling everyone about you at the police station. They agree with me. You have an awesome name.”

 

Jon and Sansa both smile.

 

“Let’s just hope that he doesn’t live up to the song,” Jon comments and Sansa laughs softly.

 

Brandon gently takes hold of Max’s hand and the baby blinks up at all of them as Brandon begins to sing the song for which his brother is named; the best Beatles song, in Brandon’s opinion (though he knows very few other fans - if any - agree with him).

 

“But when she turns her back on the boy,

He creeps up from behind.

 

Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer,

Came down upon her head.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer,

Made sure that she was dead.”

 

As he sings, Jon and Sansa look to one another, Sansa smiling as Jon begins to frown; as if she can already read his thoughts and know exactly what he is about to say.

 

“Maybe we should give him another name,” Jon thinks out loud.

 

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to expand this story and add the various Jon/Sansa and Snow children one-shot ideas I have as different chapters. And after tonight's episode, I feel like I will desperately need this mindless fluff. Thank you for reading!


	3. Julia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note before we begin: I don't expect much love for this chapter. There is no Sansa or Jon. It's two of the Snow children and no one else and without our main pairing, why would we want to read a chapter about their kids? But I had this idea for Julia and I absolutely loved it. Thank you, in advance, for reading!

…

 

Julia Snow hums to herself as she pushes herself back and forth on the swing in the backyard. Mama’s just taught her how to count to one hundred and she wants to practice now, determined to get one hundred swings before mama calls her in for snack time. She stumbled in her thirties so she stopped and now has started all over again.

 

“Twenty!” Julia exclaims happily once she reaches the number, her voice echoing in the afternoon sky.

 

She continues pumping, swinging as high as she dares, challenging herself to hum and count at the same time. But that quickly proves to be too much and she stumbles over the sixties this time.

 

“Drat,” she frowns, but she’s sure to say that quietly even all the way in the back of the yard. Mama wouldn’t want her saying that word and Julia knows it wouldn’t help if she told mama that she hears it from everyone; including mama.

 

She stops pumping her legs and slowly, the swing comes to a complete stop, Julia able to sit and swing her legs back and forth without gaining any height. She’s going to give her legs a short break before she begins again. This time, she won’t hum and just count and she knows she’ll be able to make it to one hundred.

 

She turns her head when she hears the back gate open and her smile is instant when she sees that it’s her biggest brother, Brandon, having returned home from school.

 

“Hi, Brandon!” She calls out, always happy to see one of her siblings.

 

Brandon, George and Eleanor all go to school – waking up in the morning and getting on the yellow bus to take them away for the day. Julia, at five, has begun kindergarten that year and her daddy drives her every morning on his way to his own work before Grandma Lyanna picks her up at lunchtime, where she spends the afternoon at her house before mama comes to collect her on her way home from her work. Somedays, Max is at Grandma Lyanna’s house, too, but somedays, mama takes Max with her to work where he spends his days in the daycare there.

 

Julia doesn’t tell her mama or daddy, but she misses everyone – either everyone’s at school all day or everyone’s at work all day and Julia wishes she could be with everyone all day. She doesn’t tell her mama or daddy that because she knows they’ll get quiet and do that thing where they talk to each other with just their eyes and not talk at all and Julia doesn’t like making them worry over her.

 

She just doesn’t like how everyone goes away every day.

 

Brandon trudges across the grass towards her and dropping his backpack on the ground, he then drops himself down into the swing next to hers. “Hey,” he finally says and Julia smiles, pumping her legs forward and then back before stopping.

 

“I’m counting to one hundred. Do you want to count, too?” She asks him eagerly.

 

Brandon is twelve now and he used to play with Julia and Max all of the time, but he doesn’t do it as much anymore. He has three best friends – Little Sam, Victoria and Alaric – and Brandon only seems to have time for them. George will still play with her if it’s tag or football or climbing trees, but George is eight and mama and daddy have told him that he can’t be too rough because Julia and Max are still babies.

 

Julia always stamps her foot and yells at them that she’s not a baby anytime they say that, but they just shake their heads and George will go to the park across the street from their house to roughhouse with other boys in the neighborhood his age. Eleanor will play with her – will practice different hairstyles because they have such different hair from one another (Eleanor’s is long and red like mama’s and Julia’s is black and curly like daddy’s) – or she’ll play school. Eleanor has a play schoolroom complete with a chalkboard and a student’s desk in the basement and Julia is more than happy to play school if it means playing with her sister.

 

Max is four and so much of the time, he and Julia are lumped together because of how close they are in age. Julia doesn’t mind. She loves Max and he loves her and she always knows that what she wants to play, Max will always want to play that, too, and if Max wants to play something, Julia will usually want to play that, too. She just wishes her big brothers and sister wanted to play with her.

 

“Maybe later, Julia,” Brandon says and Julia isn’t surprised at his answer, but she’s still disappointed.

 

She sighs softly and begins pumping her legs again. “One… two… three… four…” As she counts, she begins to steadily gain height, her fingers tightening around the chains of the swing, holding on.

 

Brandon begins swinging, too, pumping his legs and in no time at all, he’s as high as she is. Instead of going higher though, he matches her pumps and Julia beams as they swing back and forth at the same time.

 

“Forty-two… forty-five…”

 

“Forty-three,” Brandon corrects her.

 

“Drat,” Julia mumbles to herself and Brandon actually lets out a laugh.

 

Julia instantly beams, proud of herself for getting her biggest brother to laugh. She’s heard mama and daddy talk to one another and they say that Brandon’s getting to be “that age”; whatever that means. But Julia knows that getting Brandon to laugh is a big deal.

 

She stops pumping her legs, slowly bringing herself lower until she’s stopped swinging completely. Brandon stops, too, and he’s tall enough for his feet to touch the ground firmly as he sits there. Julia looks at him.

 

“Are you okay?” She asks him because he looks down and she’s his sister – no matter how little of a sister she might be. She cares when her big brother looks down.

 

“Yeah,” he answers right away, but Julia doesn’t believe him.

 

Without saying anything, she just keeps looking at him and Brandon turns his head towards her. He smirks a little and shakes his head.

 

“Don’t look at me like that. You look like mom,” he tells her.

 

That almost makes Julia smile, proud of that, but she just keeps looking at Brandon and doesn’t say anything.

 

Brandon sighs heavily. “Stop, Julia. It’s nothing. I saw Alaric walking Victoria to her bus today and then Victoria kissed him. It’s nothing.”

 

Julie frowns at that. She doesn’t know why Brandon would care about Victoria kissing Alaric, but he obviously _does_ care even if he’s saying that it’s nothing. She’s five, but she can tell that it’s _something_.

 

She sees people kiss. A lot. On TV and in movies and her aunts and uncles and mama and daddy, of course. Mama and daddy seem to really like kissing each other – even if it’s just a peck in the kitchen after both getting home from work.

 

She knows what kissing is. She just has _no_ idea why anyone would want to do it. It seems gross to her, but she doesn’t say that right now because gross or not, Julia can tell that Victoria kissing someone else doesn’t make Brandon happy; so that makes Julia unhappy, too.

 

“I’m sorry,” Julia says.

 

She hears her mama say that when Aunt Arya is complaining about Uncle Gendry even though her mama hasn’t done anything to say she’s sorry for. Julia then thinks of what else mama tells Aunt Arya.

 

“She’s an idiot,” Julia adds.

 

Brandon doesn’t laugh at that, but he does smile. A little. Julia thinks she should be pleased with that.

 

“Maybe,” Brandon shrugs then and tilts his head up, looking to the sky. “Everything sucks,” he then says.

 

Julia knows he’s not allowed to say that word – _suck­_ – around her or Max, but Julia won’t tell on him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Julia says again.

 

Brandon nods, looking back down towards the ground. “Thanks, Julia,” he says in a quiet voice.

 

He doesn’t smile or laugh again, but Julia thinks that maybe, just talking has helped. Mama and daddy both tell all of them that talking about things out loud can help. Julia wants to think she helped her brother now.

 

She does her best to not smile to herself. Now is _not_ the time to smile when Brandon’s down like this. It would be rude and mama has taught them to have better manners than that. Instead, she begins pumping her legs back and forth yet again.

 

“One…” she starts over. “Two… three…”

 

And Brandon doesn’t count along with her, but he begins pumping his legs to match hers and this time, Julia smiles big and wide.

 

…

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/46840573704/in/dateposted/) Julia Snow


	4. Mother Nature's Son

…

 

“George!” Sansa frowns at her son who’s _thinking_ of misbehaving. He hasn’t done anything yet, but Sansa knows her son well enough to know that he’s about to do something.

 

George frowns. “I’m bored!” He practically wails.

 

Sansa suppresses a sigh. She knew he would be bored. She shouldn’t be surprised or even perturbed; even though she’s human and of course, she gets perturbed with her children even if she tries her hardest not to be. Brandon’s baseball games can last for hours and though, oftentimes, Sansa agrees with George and can find them to be quite boring, she still goes to each and every one because Brandon loves playing baseball and Sansa wants to encourage each of her children in whatever they love doing.

 

“Come here, love,” Sansa says, holding out her hand.

 

With a heavy sigh, George steps down from the bleacher one up from where Sansa sits and though he knows he’s too old for it, he comes to stand in between Sansa’s legs anyway. Sansa smiles and kisses him on the side of his head while looping her arms around him.

 

“It’s the seventh inning stretch and we’ll be done before you know it,” Sansa promises him.

 

George just sighs heavily and looks to the baseball diamond with a frown. Sansa does her best to not smile.

 

Bringing George to an afternoon little-league baseball game is not something she and Jon ever try to do. These games are too long and George just doesn’t have the patience for them.

 

Unfortunately, leaving George at home today hadn’t been an option. Eleanor had caught a cold and had swiftly passed it onto Julia and Max as well. Brandon and George, thankfully, had been spared and it was decided that Sansa would be the parent to go the Brandon’s baseball game that late morning while Jon stayed with the other kids and Sansa would take George with her so he wouldn’t be exposed to possibly catching the same cold.

 

His teacher last year had talked with Jon and Sansa about looking into getting George medication. Jon had swiftly turned that down before the teacher had even been able to fully finish her sentence and Sansa agreed with her husband.

 

“She’d probably want to medicate Tom Sawyer if the boy was in her class,” Jon grumbled as they left.

 

They both know George is active; sometimes, downright a little tornado. But he’s _their_ tornado and who sees him more than his parents to know whether or not something is wrong? He’s eight. He’s active and hyper like any eight-year-old boy. Sansa had asked the teacher if George was disruptive in class because if he was being disruptive to her and the other students, she and Jon would definitely talk with their son about his behavior.

 

“Not always…” was her response.

 

“Are other kids disruptive in class?”

 

The teacher shifted now as if she was being interrogated and Sansa silently confirmed to herself that that was exactly what she was doing. Either George was being a tornado in class or the teacher just didn’t want to deal with an active boy.

 

“They can be,” the teacher finally answered.

 

Without needing to hear anything more, Jon rose to his feet as did Sansa.

 

Yes, George could be a handful, but they weren’t going to give him drugs just to make their lives easier. Honestly, George reminds Sansa of how Rickon was when he was a young boy. Ned would always compare the youngest Stark to a wild wolf pup, but Ned and Catelyn disciplined him when discipline was needed and then let him be a wild wolf pup other times.

 

And that’s what Jon and Sansa have chosen to do with George, their own little wild wolf pup.

 

It’s Brandon’s turn up to bat and both Sansa and George cheer loudly for him when he steps up to home plate and watch as he takes his first swing. A miss.

 

“That’s okay, Brandon!” George is the one to shout out and Sansa smiles. “You got the next one!”

 

George is still standing between Sansa’s legs, his back to her chest, and Sansa squeezes him in her arms.

 

When Brandon hits the second pitch, a ground ball towards third, Sansa and George cheer as Brandon takes first and the next batter is up.

 

George sighs heavily, leaning back against Sansa. “I hate baseball,” he mutters.

  
Sansa almost laughs at that. “It’s not my favorite either.” George smiles. “After the game is finished, we’ll go to Grandpa Ned’s and Grandma Catelyn’s and you can run around their property.”

 

“Is the game almost finished?” George asks, borderline whining now.

 

“Almost. I promise,” Sansa quickly does her best to assure him. George whining could mean disaster for all.

 

Thankfully, Brandon’s team is up four runs and it’s the bottom of the seventh so it seems like this game won’t have any extra innings today.

 

George is beginning to squirm and Sansa knows he wants to go run around, but she can’t let him do that and keep a good eye on him while watching Brandon and his game. If Jon was here as well, it'd obviously be much easier. She’ll be glad when she can get both George and Brandon to her parent’s house. The Stark house sits on a massive piece of land and it’s more than enough room for even George to run around and tire out.

 

In the meantime, there’s one sure way to distract George from his boredom and anxiousness.

 

“There’s a fog upon LA,” she says in George’s ear.

 

Just a beat passes before George’s lips twitch and he states the next line.

 

“And my friends have lost their way.”

 

“We’ll be over soon they said.”

 

“Now they’ve lost themselves instead,” George finishes and Sansa squeezes her arms around him with a smile and kisses the side of his head.

 

George is their wild wolf pup, yes, but he’s the sweetest boy named George Sansa could ever ask for and she wouldn’t change anything about him for the world. She and Jon joke together when George gets into yet another bout of mischief and their anger or annoyance has had a chance to ebb away that he certainly keeps their life from being boring.

 

“Mama,” George turns his head to look at her. “Can I _please_ go run around? I promise I’ll stay close and won’t go with any strangers.”

 

Sansa hesitates. Of course she hesitates. It’s _George_.

 

But then she sighs. “Right next to the stands, George. Don’t go any further than that or when I get Brandon a soft pretzel after the game, I won’t get you one.”

 

“I promise,” George quickly nods his head and before Sansa can say anything else, he takes off, quickly climbing down the aluminum stands to reach the ground.

 

Brandon stands on third base, watching his teammate at bat, ready to make a run for home; his full concentration on the game and his stomach knotted with eager anticipation at the chance of scoring.

 

But in the back of his mind, he hears a squawk of a bird and then wings flapping away.

 

“George!” His mom’s voice is heard from the stands. “Leave that seagull alone!”

 

“Sorry, mama!”

 

Brandon is still watching his teammate at bat, but he grins when he easily hears his mom and brother before he sprints off in a run to steal home.

 

…

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/46840573434/in/dateposted/) George Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sansa and George state the opening lyrics to "Blue Jay Way" - a song written by George Harrison for the Beatles' _Magical Mystery Tour_ album. I wanted George's namesake to have some mention in this chapter :) The chapter title is "Mother Nature's Son", a song written by Paul McCartney for _The White Album_. 
> 
> THANK YOU so much for reading! The next chapter will be Jon and Sansa, trying to be a married couple and go out to dinner together while leaving the kids at home.


	5. Love Me Do

…

 

“Can you get it?” Sansa asks worriedly as she watches Jon work under the sink.

 

“Of course I can get it,” Jon answers without missing a beat. “I just have… ah… unscrew this… damn it.”

 

Sansa listens as he grunts, working the wrench on one of the pipes, and she does her best to not make it so obvious that she’s staring at the way her husband’s biceps flex as he works. She can’t help it though. Her husband has magnificent arms and _of course_ she’s going to stare. Who can blame her for that?

 

“Got it!” Jon grunts with success when the final turn of the wrench gets the pipe open. “Shit,” he then swiftly swears and moves quickly out of the way as the water and other gunk sitting in the pipe releases out into the bucket Jon has set beneath it in preparation. “Can you wipe those for me, love?”

 

His hand sticks out from under the sink, holding his glasses, and Sansa takes them, cleaning the water droplets with the bottom of her long-sleeve tee-shirt. They wait a moment for the pipe to completely stop dripping into the bucket before Jon pulls himself out, standing up, bringing the bucket with him.

 

“Thanks,” he smiles as Sansa hands him back his glasses and she smiles, too. “Alright, let’s see what we got.”

 

They stand at the sink, where Jon sets the bucket, and she watches as he begins working his fingers through the mess that has been collected. Sansa can’t help, but wrinkle her nose. She has always thought herself to be pretty capable. She certainly doesn’t need her husband to mow the lawn or pound a nail into a wall to hang a frame, but there _are_ certain household chores she’s most grateful to have him around for.

 

“Huh,” Jon says as he pulls out the small green plastic army man. “There’s one of the culprits.”

 

Sansa almost rolls her eyes. “George!” She then calls out.

 

Jon smirks and sets it aside to be washed off before he continues digging his fingers through the muck.

 

“And here’s the other,” he says after a moment and pulls out a plastic Ariel figure from _The Little Mermaid_.

 

“Eleanor!” Sansa calls out this time.

 

“Why’d we decide to not keep Brandon an only kid?” Jon wonders out loud and Sansa lets out a huff of laughter before she’s able to stop herself.

 

“Because he was such a delight, he had us fooled into thinking _all_ of our kids would be like that,” Sansa says and Jon breaks into a grin, still digging through the muck, this time, his fingers moving slowly and thoroughly, not wanting to miss what he’s still searching for.

 

“Honk! Honk!”

 

Sansa turns her head and Jon looks over his shoulder, both to see Max toddle into the kitchen from the family room, pushing his plastic lawnmower that blows bubbles. Ghost is hopping along with him, the dog occasionally snapping at the bubbles with his mouth before shaking his head, not liking the taste, but forgetting it just seconds later when he snaps another one.

 

“Honk! Honk!” Max grins at both of his parents and Jon and Sansa smile at him in return as he pushes his lawnmower through the kitchen and into the dining room, Ghost sticking with him.

 

Jon and Sansa normally don’t like Max pushing his bubble lawnmower in the house and have told him that; _several_ times. But having lived through four other two-year-olds before Max, they also know that sometimes, it’s not worth the battle that will come with it. If their toddler is happy and occupied for the moment, it’s a miraculous moment that Jon and Sansa won’t ruin for themselves.

 

“If it’s not in here, I’m trying to think where else it could be,” Sansa worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “It could be _anywhere_.”

 

“No worries, love. I’ll find it in here and if not… I’ll buy you a new one,” Jon promises.

 

“You’re not buying me a new one, Jon,” Sansa is swift to frown at him for that.

 

Jon just smiles and keeps fingering through the muck in the bucket.

 

“Mama!” Julia enters the kitchen next and Sansa and Jon look to their second youngest. Jon has to quickly turn his head forward so Julia won’t see him smile and Sansa has to purse her lips together to hide her own.

 

“Eleanor experimenting again?” Sansa guesses though it’s obvious that’s exactly what has been happening.

 

Julia gives a great pout. “Fix it, mama.”

 

“Come here, love,” Sansa smiles, sinking to her knees and Julia coming to her. Sansa turns her around so she can start to undo the dozens of braids Eleanor has put throughout her sister’s hair, her fingers gently combing through the black curls so they won’t tangle terribly. “There we are,” Sansa kisses Julia’s cheek once her hair is back to right. “Tell your sister no more cornrows.”

 

Julie kisses Sansa’s cheek. “Thank you, mama!” She exclaims as she’s running from the kitchen and back up the stairs.

 

“Eleanor! George!” Sansa calls out for the twins again.

 

“Honk! Honk!” Max has gone through the dining room and living room and is coming up the front hall. The twins race down the stairs, nearly running into their brother and tripping over both Ghost and the lawnmower, but both are able to avoid a collision disaster and hurry into the kitchen, both breathless.

 

“I didn’t do it,” George is quick to say.

 

Jon snorts and Sansa holds out the army man and Ariel. “What have we told you before?” She asks.

 

“Ariel was caught in a fierce ocean tornado, mama,” Eleanor explains as she takes both figures, holding onto Ariel as she hands the army man to her brother.

 

“And the special forces Army ranger had to jump in and rescue her,” George finishes.

 

“Stop playing with this garbage disposal or you’ll break it and your mama and me will make you _both_ be our new garbage disposal,” Jon tells them.

 

The twins look at one another and bursting out with laughter, they turn and run away again, almost colliding with Max, Ghost and the lawnmower once again on their way back up the stairs.

 

“Honk! Honk!” Max exclaims, heading towards the family room, almost completing with his circuit.

 

But then, the lawnmower runs out of bubbles and when Max sees this, he stops in his tracks and bursts into tears, his loud wails echoing in the air. Sansa goes to collect him, swooping him up in her arms, but he keeps crying at the top of his lungs. Holding him in one arm, Sansa is able to get the bottle of bubbles from where they keep it on the top shelf of the pantry.

 

“Shhhh, Max. Shhhh,” Sansa tries to coax him. “Mama’s fixing it.”

 

Max just keeps on crying.

 

The back door opens and Brandon – cheeks pink and hair tousled from the wind – comes into the house, with Lady with him.

 

“Brandon,” Sansa holds out the bubbles to her oldest and without protest, Brandon is quick to fill the lawnmower once again. “Shhhh, Max. See? Your brother put more in.” She rubs Max’s back and kisses his head. “See?” She asks and Brandon pushes the toy forward so Max can see it pop out more bubbles.

 

Max looks at the bubbles and his tears seem to immediately stop. Sansa wipes at his cheeks with one hand and then wipes his runny nose on the cuff of her shirt. She sets him down again and Max grasps the handle of the lawnmower, pushing it forward himself.

 

“Honk! Honk!” He exclaims, laughing, as he moves forward again.

 

“Thank you,” Sansa smiles at Brandon, taking the bubbles back to return them to the pantry. “How was grandma and grandpa’s?”

 

“Look what grandpa got me,” Brandon excitedly shows both of his parents.

 

_The Cop-In-Training Kit_

 

“It has handcuffs, a water pistol, a badge, a nightstick baton, a walkie-talkie, finger print kit and my very own paper copy of the Miranda rights,” he tells them with a rush, opening the plastic box on the counter, Sansa and Jon, leaning over, both to look it.

 

“Pretty awesome,” Jon gives a grin and Brandon grins back.

 

“Can I dust something for prints?” Brandon asks, directing the question more towards his mom since he already knows that his dad won’t have a problem with it. Mom’s the one though who always likes things to be as clean as they possibly can be – even with five kids and two dogs.

 

As expected, Sansa hesitates.

 

“Go outside and dust my truck,” Jon says.

 

“Yeah?” Brandon’s eyes light up.

 

“I left my coffee thermos in there.”

 

“Thanks, dad!” Brandon grabs Jon’s truck keys from the hook on the wall as he races down the hallway to the front door with his cop kit under his arm and Lady on his heels.

 

Sansa gives her husband a grateful smile. She already knows she’ll find fingerprint dust _inside_ , but for now, it’s not something she has to worry about cleaning up.

 

“Got it,” Jon smiles triumphantly and Sansa gasps.

 

“Really?” Sansa believes him and yet, she has to ask; just to make sure.

 

Jon nods and moving to the other side of the sink, he rinses his hands off. Turning, he then holds it up.

 

“Thank the Gods,” Sansa sighs when Jon holds up the silver wedding band that she had lost while scrubbing the pot from that afternoon’s lunch of macaroni and cheese.

 

Jon takes her left hand. “Marry me?” He asks.

 

Sansa lets out a laugh. It’s not the first time he’s asked that throughout their marriage and it certainly won’t be the last. She hopes he’ll keep asking her that for the rest of their life.

 

“Yes,” Sansa beams and as Jon slips the finger back onto her finger – where it rightfully belongs – he leans in and seals it with a kiss.

 

…

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/33981239098/in/dateposted/) [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/27464164@N07/33981239168/in/photostream/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this pointless fluff and for loving this universe as much as some of you do!


End file.
